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Suruc, Turkey – The Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and other allied forces reported advances of more than 15 km in the western and southern countryside of Kobane in northern Syria, after retaking new villages on Sunday.

Speaking to ARA News in Kobane, Noureddin Gobani, a fighter in the YPG’s ranks, said that the defending forces of Kobane retook last night the strategic hill of Barkal (17 km south of Kobane) as well as some surrounding villages and farms.

“Fierce clashes took place on Sunday in the vicinity of the village of Kara Koy (15 km west of Kobane) after the liberation of the city and its suburbs,” Gabani reported, pointing out that U.S.-led coalition warplanes continue bombing IS strongholds in the countryside of Kobane.

In the meantime, the YPG Media Center issued a statement confirming the death of seven IS militants in the vicinity of the village of Tel Hajib east of Kobane, amid continuous clashes in the vicinity of the village of Boban in the western countryside.

The Kurdish forces also seized a large number of weapons and a great deal of ammunition, according to the YPG’s leadership.

Also on Sunday, the YPG fighters killed three IS extremists and destroyed an armored vehicle of the radical group in the area between the villages of Arja and Haddada ــ administratively linked to the city of Girke Lege (Mabada) in Hasakah province, in northeast of Syria.

Meanwhile, IS militants bombarded the town of Tel Temir with shells in Hasakah province. At least two civilians were injured.

In a related development, activists from Tel Abyad (Gire Spi) in Raqqa province, speaking to ARA News on the phone, confirmed that the U.S.-led coalition warplanes destroyed on Sunday an IS convoy composed of 18 military vehicle heading from Tel Abyad to Kobane.

Dozens of bodies of IS militants arrived in Tel Abyad’s main hospital following the raids, local sources told ARA News.

Noteworthy, the Islamic State extremist group has reportedly vowed to return to Kobane after new preparations and military reinforcements.